300 Years Lost
by FeralCherub
Summary: Bella is a lets her 12 year old curiosity get the better of her and ends up getting lost 300 years in time. What will ensue? *Rating may change as story progresses*
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

 _The magic always happens outside of your comfort zone._

The humid Phoenix summer air made Bella's straight brown hair crackle into a frizzy mess. She crinkled her short upturned nose which deepened the slight wrinkle indented into her skin as she tried to smooth and contain it. The sun was setting soon and she needed to make it to her cousin Jessica's house which laid on the outskirts of the small deserted fields before dark lest she suffer another whooping from her Auntie Janet, as her parents had threatened earlier.

She stepped down from the white wrap around porch surrounding the church she often found solace in when her parents fought. It was a simple old building, the stark white it was once painted now blended into the cream colored trim due to the dry dust the fields often kicked up. Much of the Church's land was used for hiking for tourist since it was surrounded by scraggly rock formations that were great for climbing. It wasn't an alluring sight to behold to most locals who saw the formations most places but the entrance fee provided much needed income for the Church. The one stained glass window perched at the top of the steeple, caked in dust, displayed an angel holding a cross. Bella always thought it was the one redeeming quality of the old church, although she never made that thought known lest Father Weber think she was ungrateful for the sanctuary he provided for her on a growing basis. Father Weber was a kind, short, round man of whom usually only talked to offer words of godly advice. His pale skin usually shined with oil and there were deep pockmarks where puberty had gone finger painting. Him and his wife had three children, Angela who was Bella's age and twin boys who were younger. They were entirely dedicated to the church, and by association, her.

She hated her parents increasing number of fights that forced her to seek peace at the church. After her brother Eric was born, her parents struggles endlessly to make ends meet and the added stress began plucking relentlessly at the precious strings of their marriage. But Bella would never give up her brother to end the fighting, his innocent soul deserved better. Things had gotten so bad today that they called her through the church's landline and told Bella to make it to Janet's house before dark, where she would be staying the night. She wondered where Eric would be staying. Perhaps her parents thought he was too young to know what was happening as they had mentioned in passing before, but at the ripe old age of six, Eric definitely had some awareness of the situation.

Bella began her trek, setting down the dusty trail towards the outer cotton fields. Her too big white dress fluttered around her small, gangly 12 year old limbs and matched the blooming product of the local laborers. The never ending dust kicked up by her walking settled on her legs and slightly uncomfortable black shoes. Other kids her age dressed in comfortable attire like shorts and sneakers but Charlotte was left with hand-me-downs and unwanted clothing from her older cousins, thus making her yearn for a prim and proper style that would disguise her less than modest upbringing.

She stared at her reflection in the muddied water that sat in an unused irrigation ditch as she walked. Her straight brown hair remained frizzy and untamable. Her cheeks were the only pudgy part of her body, and her skin was unmarred save for the brown spots where the sun had gone dancing across the bridge of her nose and left its dotted footsteps. The too-full, pink, chapped lips covered naturally straight teeth that didn't quite meet in the middle on top, leaving a small gap. Too big brown eyes matched the rest of the features that seemed too large for her small, pudgy face. She never considered herself a pretty child, reserving that description for people like Jessica who had long thick brown hair that curled like it was supposed to and green eyes that reminded her of Christmas.

Signing in resignation, Bella continued down the path to Janet's house. Although she was close with Jessica and loved her, there would be always be a hint of animosity in her feelings for her. Bella knew that this was caused by than just Jessica's looks. Jessica just had Auntie Janet. She never had to deal with her parents fighting through the night because her father wasn't in the picture. And while sometimes it seemed like Jessica missed the man she never met, she always told Bella that she was more than happy without him, and would continue being that way.

She still hadn't found out about the monthly checks being sent from him that Bella had seen sitting on the counter. Bella wanted to tell her but Auntie Janet gave her a stern look that said everything. At the time, Bella reasoned with herself by saying Jessica probably already knew after further reflection she knew that if she did, she would've asked Janet to tell him to stop by now and, truth be told, any kind of money like that was essential to a living a comfortable life.

Auntie Janet was a small but robust woman with a voice like a banshee and a personality as stubborn as a bulldog but maternal in a stern grandmother type of way. She garnered respect from everyone who knew her but especially from Bella. She treated Bella more like a daughter than a niece and often gave her similar solace from her parents fights as the church did.

Bella approached the house just as she felt the breeze of the night cooling off. Her thin dress did little from protecting her. Auntie Janet's house was a dusty brown color that matched the dirt on the ground. It stood two stories and was small but well kept. Bella preferred it greatly to her own home where she had to still share her bedroom still with her brother, who kept his space in a constant disarray, and fight for the bathroom everyday.

She knocked on the peeling white front door.

"Child, how many times do I have to tell you to just walk in?" Auntie Janet said for the thousandth with a stern smile.

"Sorry," Bella said impishly, with a shy smile of her own. Janet beckoned her in and closed the door behind her.

"You know I'm glad you made it, darlin'. You never know what's out in those fields at night." Janet said disapprovingly. Janet was as stubborn as she was superstitious. According to her, all kinds of mythical night creatures roamed the night time fields, but painly ghosts of laborers past.

"Mom, are you feeding Bella those tales of those wraiths you believe in again? You know she's too big of a scaredy cat not to believe you," Jessica yelled down from the stairs, peeking her smiling face out and winking at while she was at it. Bella grinned back and headed for the stairs.

"I want you both down here for dinner in 20 minutes, don't make me come up there and get you." Janet warned with a waggle of her finger before heading to the kitchen.

"Come on, Bell, I have news," Jessica said deviously low so only Bella could hear. They made their way to Jessica's room and Bella sat on her small twin bed. The room was small as well but held everything that made it feel like Jessica's personal space; an antique dress in the corner, posters on the wall, an old nightstand holding a small lamp, and Christmas lights strung across the wall.

"So, what's this news?" Bella asked curiously.

"Mike asked me out today! You know I've been waiting for months!" Jessica said excitedly. Mike Newton had been the subject of Jessica's infatuation for at least two years but it was only recently that she had been trying to lure him into asking her out. She tried reasoning with Bella by saying that she had to play hard to get, no matter how much she wanted him to ask her. When Bella asked her why, Jessica just said she wouldn't understand until she was older, and with Jessica being three years her senior, she couldn't argue with that logic.

Bella tried to smile for her but it turned out more like a grimace, she couldn't help but be swept up with an overwhelming about of jealousness towards her cousin. Whenever boys talked to her, or anyone unfamiliar for that matter, she seized up with a crippling shyness that made it hard for her to function.

"That's greatJess, what are you guys going to do?"

"Well, Mike and I haven't gotten quite that far yet, he just asked if I wanted to do something sometime. But you know mom won't let me out of her sight if she knows I'll be with a boy but I'll work that out." Jessica looked out the window dreamily, her eyes suggesting she was far away in her mind, probably planning a whole date with Mike, down to the T.

"I'm happy for you," Bella said, pushing aside her jealousy, "but we should get down there to see if your mom needs any help with dinner." She smoothed her dress nervously as she stood and hoped Jessica wouldn't notice her ploy to end the conversation. Jessica gave her a sideways glance but didn't say anything before grabbing Bella's hand and towing her downstairs.

"Do you need any help mom?" Jessica asked as they entered the kitchen.

"Why don't you girls set the table. The fried chicken is almost done cookin' and I'm just waiting for the biscuits to come out the oven." Janet replied, fluttering around her small kitchen making the meal. Bella's stomach rumbled unceremoniously at the smell of frying food.

 _I bet Jessica has never gone hungry,_ she thought sourly.

She opened the cabinets and handed the silverware to Jessica to set on the table. They readied the food and table in comfortable silence before eating the same way.

"I haven't seen you since school has gotten out Bell, where have you been hiding?" Janet asked, with a wry smile.

"Oh you know, here and there. Been trying to catch up on my summer reading list," Bella answered, trying to hide the fact that she had spent nearly everyday of past two weeks of summer break at the church. Her answer was truthful enough though, she was usually reading when she was at the church.

"How many books have you finished so far? You know I always wish Jess would put that much effort in her reading, lord knows it would help her," she replied with a pointed glance at Jessica.

Jessica groaned. "Mom, you know I struggle enough in school as it is, why do I need to struggle out of school also?"

Janet shook her head and said, "Practice makes perfect and if you never practice than how can you ever be close to perfect?"

Jessica glared at Bella and Janet but went back to eating her food, effectively ending the conversation.

Bella would gladly give up her ease in school if that meant she could be like Jessica; beautiful, strong, and outgoing. Her own parents often pointed out the fact to Janet and other relatives that while Bella may be growing up to be a rocket scientist, she sure as hell wouldn't be doing it with a husband.

 _As if that's the most important thing on Earth,_ Bella thought. _In fact I'd rather be husband less! No one to fight with or worry about._

Bella gave a little smile at the thought and finished her plate.

They cleaned the kitchen and table after finishing their meal in silence. Janet stopped Bella on when she was on her way to Jessica's room.

"I know you don't have clothes for tonight but Jessica has some old ones that should fit, maybe a bit loose, but they'll be good for the night. Now go wash the dust off yourself and go to bed. Jessica knows where the old clothes are and you know where blankets are," she said with a maternal smile.

"Thank you," Bella replied, however while her words were meant to imply gratitude she couldn't tell her tone was too clipped for it to go unnoticed. She hated feeling like a charity case.

After showering, Bella laid down underneath the blankets on the couch. Her thoughts swirled around in her head as they often did at night.

She worried about her parents and Eric. Divorce had come up often lately and she hoped it wouldn't come true. She worried that she actually never would find a husband because she was ugly and shy. What if her studies were not enough to grant her a good life? She groaned internally begging her mind to turn off though it never did. The dark house and creaking noises that came from the old wood kept Bella up until the deep of night and she wished desperately that she brought the book she had started reading from the church.

Finally, she fell into a restless sleep, full of murmuring dreams that she couldn't remember when she woke up.

The next day was the same as always, hot and humid. Bella's mother, Renee, picked her up shortly after she woke and took her home. She didn't speak much on the ride home and went straight to her and Eric's room when she got home. He wasn't there which meant they had probably sent him off to a friends house as well. It didn't take long before she heard the beginning of an argument starting downstairs. She sighed and waited to see if it would resolve itself. It didn't.

Her parents voices grew louder and clearer until she could hear the entirety of what their argument was about. She sprung from her twin bed where she was laying.

"Ugh!" Bella uncharacteristically shrieked as she stalked downstairs. Her parents were yelling in the kitchen and barely noticed her as she reached the front door.

"Going to church." She said barely above a mumble.

 _As if you care_ , she added mentally, slamming the front door closed. The walk through the desert land from her parents house to the church was shorter than the one she had walked last night and it was a path she knew well.

The trail was a bit wider than the normal ones that led in and through the fields due to her frequent use. A similar irrigation ditch followed her path and she looked down at her reflection again.

 _Will I ever be pretty like Jessica?_ The question floated around in her head and she found the same thoughts she had from last night coming back. Jessica had always been pretty, even as a child and her looks reflected that fact now. Did this mean Bella would always been ugly and plain? She hoped not.

Bella looked up suddenly, lost in the reflection of her thoughts and realized she was lost. She had been following the irrigation ditch and hadn't realized she had taken a wrong turn. She had never made a wrong turn in the deserts she had walked since she was a child before.

 _Well, what a great day this is already turning out to be. First the fight and now I'm lost! Seriously when do_ I _get lost in the desert? That's more of Eric's expertise,_ she thought sourly. She turned and followed the irrigation ditch back down to where she thought she came from. The thin yellow dress she had changed into before leaving her parents clung to her skin as the humidity and rising temperature made her sweat. The sun was almost directly overhead now which meant she had been in the fields for nearly an hour. Bella knew this wasn't good because she hadn't lathered up her pale, freckled skin with sunscreen before she left and soon it would start burning.

The irrigation ditch did not direct her in the right way and she groaned internally. She hated sun burns and with her pale skin she had enough of them to last her a life time.

Movement in the water caught her attention. Usually the water was stagnant unless is was raining, which it wasn't and hadn't for a while. She often wondered why the water never dried but it just never did. Bella followed the direction it moved as her curiosity caught up to her. Regardless of her mature mentality, she was still 12 years old.

 _I'll just see where it's going,_ she reasoned with herself. The water went downstream not too much further before it ended in a small swirling vortex that led nowhere but seemed to suck the water down it. She wondered if there was an uncapped or broken pipe causing the suction and carefully lowered herself down to the ground to feel into the water. Her arm went halfway in and felt nothing but the swirling of water, even though the ditch didn't seem deeper than a foot and the water even less than that. She leaned in a bit further feeling around and still found nothing.

The loose dirt siding shifted under her weight and left her falling into the water. She yelped in surprise and expected to hit the soggy ground of the ditch yet found herself spiraling as the feeling of weightlessness surrounded her.

What seemed like forever later she landed with a thump. Her head whipped around and instead of wet hair lashing her face she realized she was dry. The air was crisper, and refreshing and after evaluating her surroundings she found herself surrounded by lush greenery that was nothing like the parched desert of the Phoenix she knew. Owls hooted and fireflies filled the night sky above her.

 _Night?!_ She wondered, _It had just been afternoon! The sun was directly overhead!_

She shivered in her dress that now did absolutely nothing the shield her from the cold. Her surveillance of the surrounding area revealed what she had already assumed since landing. She was completely alone in the night and the thought made tears well up in her eyes and pouring down her cheeks like silver streams.

 _What have I done?_

Little did she know that her curiosity about the swirling water had landed her 300 years lost in time.


	2. Chapter 2

_First we must make a choice. Then our choices make us. - Andy Andrews, The Young Traveler's Gift_

After sobbing until her eyes were red and raw, Bella stumbled around the forest for what felt like eons. Everything looked the same no matter where she went. Too wet and green and soft to be Phoenix. Branches snagged her hair that now laid damp on her head. Barbed twigs and vines ensnared her ankles cutting her. Her dress was torn and smudged deep with mud as were her shoes and socks. The dress laid flush against her skin, saturated fully by the thick mist in the air, providing no warmth from the frigid night air. Her body shivered nonstop and she heard her teeth chattering, although she could no longer feel it in her jaw.

But she walked and she walked and she walked. Maybe in circles, she had no way of knowing. Everything looked the same. The pangs in her stomach achingly reminded her that she had forgone breakfast. Or would have it been dinner? It had been the daylight, early afternoon daylight she was sure, when she left; before _it_ happened. Bella couldn't name it, for she didn't know what to call it. She didn't know what had happened in the first place when she reached into that water. It left her utterly and wholly confused.

What could have happened? All she had done was reach into the water curious to see what had caused the vortex but she fell into the water and out the other side without getting a drop on her. Her dry mouth ached for water. She knew there must be some somewhere. Places like this don't get this green and soft without water. Maybe if she could find someone, anyone, she could then find water.

Bella felt lucky then that all Phoenix schools mandated a survival class that taught them what they needed to survive in the desert for long enough to be rescued. Not that where she was now was any desert. But there were some benefits she supposed. No achingly hot sun, there had to be more rainfall and thus more water somewhere to supply all this green, and there was ample shelter under the trees. The biggest threat to being stranded in the desert was the lack of water. That would be the first thing a person would go from. Dehydration. But Bella held out the hope for water, she could feel it in the air, in the way it clung to her dress and hair.

And so she stumbled on. She barely noticed the glowing light starting to appear overhead, dimly lighting the horizon. Her legs shook with exhaustion, unused to this kind of exertion. Her arms swung heavily by her sides, numbly swinging low branches out of her way when they crossed her path, now bruised and cut like her ankles.

She followed what looked like a path but could've been just regular dirt for all she knew. She had never seen a forest in real life before but this one seemed more dense and all consuming than anything she could've ever imagined. The cold overwhelmed her mind, making it hard to process any coherent thought.

Bella's feet dragged and caught a stone buried in the ground, so deeply covered in moss her brain had mistook it as part of the ground. Her body was so sapped of energy she had already hit the ground by the time her hands came up. Instead of pushing herself back up, she rested them under her head as if the ground were her bed and her hands the pillow. The noises of the forest dimmed around her as her mind cut them out.

She let her eyes slip close and fell into an exhausted, dreamless sleep.

When Bella awoke, the sun shone directly overhead. Its rays fell through the trees bathing her in warmth, thawing out the cold in her limbs. Birds chirped in trees above like it was a perfect summer day.

She shot up with a start, dazed by her surroundings.

 _Where am I?_

Then it all came back to her. It hadn't been a dream.

 _Maybe I've died._

It felt like she had died. Her skin felt raw and her feet ached and she knew she had blisters. She rolled onto her back with a groan. She could tell her position had remained the same the entire time she slept leaving her muscles stiff and the exercise she had endured previous to her nap made her even more sore.

She tried to stretch and sit up to assess the damage. Cuts lined her arms and legs. Her dress was a useless piece of damp fabric at this point, merely providing the comfort of not having to be nude. Her hair was a matted nest, complete with twigs and leaves in it. Hunger pains rumbled through her body and her mouth felt like the Sahara desert.

 _At least I'm not so cold anymore._

Using her feet, she tugged off her shoes and stretched her toes, wincing at the feeling of the new blisters. She laid back down on her back.

 _Need to find water. Need to find food. Need to use bathroom._ Her mind made her needs known, loud and clear. She shut her eyes, trying to think of a strategy. The only ways she knew to find water in the desert was from eating the flesh of the fishhook barrel cactus, eating cactus fruit and digging a deep enough hole. There were no cactus in this green alien place and the ground was too thickly covered in moss to dig. She had no forest survival skills whatsoever.

She groaned but her dried out throat smarted at the sound.

 _I need to start moving. God knows I won't be able to find a house or rescuer or anything laying here!_

She tried standing up but her thin legs almost gave out from under her.

 _Why did I have to like reading? Why couldn't be an athletic superstar?_ Bella groaned internally, not allowing herself to do it out loud in fear of her throat cracking.

 _If I can't walk, I can always crawl,_ Bella reasoned. _No! What am I doing!? Get up, NOW!_

She tried forcing her body to move, and it slowly complied.

 _There we go nice and easy._

Her limbs slowly shuffled into a standing position, while receiving support from the tree Bella leaned on.

 _See, not so hard,_ Bella thought smugly. _I just need to start walking._

 _Great now I'm talking to myself._

Shoes in hand, Bella tentatively stepped forward, trying to avoid the spots where blisters had formed. Avoiding the blisters seemed like a whole new task however, considering they way they seemed to cover her feet entirely. The ground was soft, and she was thankful for the moss for providing some relief.

Slowly, she made her way through the forest, relieving herself when she felt she had found a private spot, though she had yet to see anyone else around who would care.

It wasn't until the sun was about to set that she felt a slight change in the ground. It seemed to get softer with a muddier consistency and it curved downward. The change made her rush forward as fast as she could with her blister ridden feet to see if it actually could be the answer to her prays.

She brushed past the branches and leaves in her way to reveal a small pond. Its bank was free of flora and curved gently into the water. The water seemed dark as midnight and was unmoving.

Bella fell to her knees and immediately started scooping water into her mouth. The cool rehydrating taste soothed her cracked voice and filled her empty stomach, though she knew that wouldn't last for long. She set back on a rock, dipped her dirty feet in the pool, and looked around her, her first break all day. The water soothed her blisters.

She hadn't been paying much attention to her scenery as she had been walking due to her urgent needs filling her mind. But now that two of them had been met, her mind could process what was happening around her.

The sun was setting now, although it had been covered by clouds. Mist was filling the air once more and the temperature had already dropped considerably. Bella shivered and took her feet out of the water to hug them to her chest. Her stomach groaned loudly then, from hunger most likely. She made her way off her rock to sit next to the nearest tree. Here, she realized how strange it was that in a place where everything seemed to grow everywhere that there was no plant life next to the pond. She pondered about how strange that would be in a forest.

 _Maybe it's just because the ground is too soft around the pond_ , she thought uneasily. She told herself not to worry, although that was harder said than done. All around her night noises started to fill her ears. Animals rustling through brush, birds in trees probably flying to their nests squawked before settling in, crickets played their song. She hadn't noticed it the day before, how loud the forest was when one stopped to listen. It was teeming with life.

And Bella had never felt more alone. She felt the tears coming but pushed them away, she knew she couldn't afford to lose the water. Her lips quivered, from the cold or her emotions, she didn't know. Eyes slipping shut, she fell into another dark, dreamless sleep.

When Bella awoke, it was still dark outside. Her back felt stiff from sitting against the tree and her neck had a kink in it from her head lolling to the side. Her stomach rumbled mightily and a wave of nausea flooded her senses. She rolled to her hands and knees and before she could move any further, her body heaved all the water she had drank back up. The heaving kept going until there was nothing but bile coming up.

She was sure if she had eaten something it would have come up as well and for once, she was grateful that she had gone hungry.

When her body finally stopped heaving she curled up into fetal position. Tremors racked her frame and she could feel her body sweating violently. She tried closing her eyes and falling asleep but wave after wave of nausea passed through her, however her body didn't try to regurgitate her innards again. There was nothing left to give.

 _So this is what dying is like,_ Bella thought humorlessly. But she welcomed this thought. The past two days had rattled her very existence to the core. She still had yet to figure out what had happened to make her end up in a place like this.

 _God, my parents must be worried_ , she hoped this was the case, although she could see them possibly rejoicing in the fact that she was no longer there to aid their financial demise.

With that thought, she fell into a muddled sleep, where she couldn't tell if her life had actually happened or if it was a cruel joke played on her by fate. Memories replayed as if her life was slowly flashing by her.

 _Maybe it is. Maybe when you die slowly, your life flashes by just as slowly._ Her thoughts seemed far away, as if pulled away from her by another part of her mind. Thinking seemed harder than usual, and she gave up to let her sickness take her.

Her earliest memories came to her first. Her and Jessica playing in the mud from a recent rain. Playing tag with her parents in their backyard, with their small old dog running with them. Jessica dressing her up like a doll. Birthday parties that had ceased after Eric was born because her parents could no longer afford them. These memories were happy fragments, playing as if stitched together on an old movie reel, the quality was fuzzy yet the emotions were clear.

Next came memories of her early childhood. She vividly remembered her parents telling her that their old dog had gone to heaven and was struck again with the pain of hearing that. She remembered her parents telling her about how a baby was growing in mommy's tummy and how she would have a little brother. She remembered everything being centered around that fact for the next year. A baby shower, her room changing to accommodate a new baby, Eric being born, her parents bringing him home. She remembered how the fighting started, usually late night when they thought she and Eric were sleeping.

Jessica and Janet were present in most of her memories here as well. She remembered her growing envy of Jessica; Jessica's ease with talking to new friends and all the cute boys in her grade, Jessica growing taller and even prettier than her, Jessica stealing the spotlight no matter where they went, Jessica talking back to her mom like the spitfire she was.

A pang of sadness hit her as she remembered her family and the few friends she had. She would never see them again. She would never see the church or the dry deserts she had grown to love. She would never get lost in another book again, never feel the crisp pages bending under her fingers.

A clear memory of her teaching Eric to ride a bike came to her. It was his first lesson. He had begged her to teach him, since their parents had been working constantly and didn't have the time to teach him themselves. Though she had doubted that she should teach him due to her inherent clumsiness, he begged and pleaded until she gave in to him.

It was 1999, a hot day that her parents had left them at home alone for the hundredth that summer. Bella was 10 and Eric was 4.

He got onto her pink secondhand bike since it was the only one without training wheels. Bella remembered how sweaty her hands were getting from the heat of midday. She pushed him around for a while for him to get the feel of the balance of it and then started giving him little shoves so he could do it by himself when he requested it. On the last shove she tried pushing harder to get him further but her hands slipped and she pushed him off the bike instead.

Her horror and guilt from the memory flooded to her then. Eric flew from the bike and landed on his wrist. It snapped like a twig under her foot. His cries pierced through her thoughts before everything faded to black.

Bella's mind stayed black for a long time after that, as if she were underwater and struggling to surface.

Finally, she felt the drifting of more memories resurface. It was better than the black she couldn't escape. Her mind replayed the last days of her life as if looking at her from another person's view. Bella wanted to scream at the curious girl about to touch the water but couldn't find her voice. She watched her fall in and resurface in a strange world.

In these moments she prayed to every god she could think of. She prayed that it was a dream and that she would wake up at home. She asked for forgiveness for every act she could think of. Her mind worked so hard at praying coherent thoughts it exhausted her back into the blackness.

Her mind drifted in the blackness, unthinking, not resurfacing into the memories again.

It seemed like years had passed by the time Bella had an inkling of a thought once more. She thought she heard voices around her though the voices sounded foreign and garbled. Her mind was more awake than it had been since she fell through the water. It felt as if a fog had been lifted from her mind.

A groan fell through her lips as she tried to shift her body. Everything _hurt_. She groaned again.

The voices became more agitated now. Bella wanted to shush them. Her head hurt at the sound.

Slowly she opened her eyes and shut them quickly again, trying to shut out the bright light that ran straight into her head like a laser beam.

 _Am I dead? This doesn't feel like death. I thought death was peaceful…_

She tried turning her head slowly in order to open her eyes away from the light.

Pain lanced every movement, but she was determined to see if the voices were real and not another cruel joke the world had decided to play on her.

Slower than last time, her eyes fluttered open. It wasn't bright where she was.

 _Thank God._

There seemed to be just one hole in the area she was in that allowed light through. Three faces stared at her. One man and two women.

They shared the same russet skin, dark eyes, and long ebony hair. The man stood tall and broad. Pants made of leather covered him and his chest was shirtless. His hair was twisted into cords in some areas and pulled back in other areas. He gave off an imitating aura. Bella was afraid at the sight of him. The women could have been twins. Both had their hair twisted back and wore a wary expression on their face. They were small in stature from what Bella could see and held a variety of materials in their hands.

Bella tried to clear her throat but found it parched.

"What happened to me? Who are you?" Her voice came out quiet, scratchy, and uneven. The man lurched forward towards her and Bella screamed.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is." - German Proverb

When Bella awoke again, only the two women were with her.

I must of fainted.

"What happened? Why am I here?" She pleaded. Her throat was burning. The women turned from where they were working and started speaking to her quickly.

Except they might as well been clucking like chickens. The foreign language sounded unlike any other language she ever heard.

"Who are you?" She tried asking them again. They continued talking, looking at her with bizarre facial expressions.

"Can I have something to drink?" Her voice rasped. They regarded her warily, eyes as wide as saucers. Bella tried to gesture like she was drinking.

Their faces lit up as little oo's and ah's slipped from their mouths as if Bella was a circus monkey and they were watching a show. One of the women held a small leather pouch to her lips and tipped it back. Bella felt the rejuvenating, clear water rush over her lips and into her mouth. She realized then the mistake she made by drinking that pool. This water was fresh and soothing. The water from the small pool had been refreshing at the time of drinking it but now, comparing the taste to this water, she knew that water had been stale, undrinkable.

"Kwaiya." The woman closest to Bella said, putting emphasis on the pronunciation of the word.

"Kwaiya?" Bella said shyly back, but the word sounded strange in her mouth and came out more like a question. The women giggled and gestured to the water pouch, saying the odd word again.

They're saying their word for water! Bella understood finally. She tried pronouncing their word again and they giggled but nodded. She laid back down and whispered it to herself over and over, trying to commit it to memory.

The women continued their work but continuously glanced over at Bella. Bella sat up again and pointed to herself.

"Bella."

The women looked over at her and both furrowed their eyebrows. She continued pointing at herself and repeated her name.

"Bella." They repeated pointing to her. Her name sounded unfamiliar in their mouths, where the emphasis in the pronunciation of her name was in the wrong places. Bella nodded furiously, beaming at them. She tried pointing at them, though she doubted that even with knowing their names she would be able to tell them apart.

One of them gestured to herself and spurted out a long impossible name that Bella would never be able to say before gesturing to the other one and saying another long impossible name.

Bella tried to smile apologetically because she would never be able to say those names no matter how hard she tried. They smiled back and repeated them, obviously waiting for Bella to try. Her smile wavered and she prepared to embarrass herself thoroughly. The names were long and complicated but she figured she could try shortening them and see how they would take it.

Bella gestured to the woman closest to her. "Em-ily." The woman shook her head and said her full name again. Bella blushed furiously at her own failure to pronounce it correctly, and gave her head a little shake before saying it again.

"Em-ily." The woman looked disappointed but realized that was the best she would get out of Bella.

Bella pointed to the other woman. "Le-ah." This time she understood that Bella couldn't say her full name and smiled at her. Bella gave a small smile back before laying down and closing her eyes. Her body still ached and her mind felt exhausted from the mental processing it just had to endure.

While she was satisfied that she was on a first name basis from her saviors (or were they her kidnappers?), the overwhelming feeling of desolation and confusion filled her. Who were these people? She didn't just mean Emily and Leah. They dressed like the Native Americans she saw in her history textbook from home.

Home.

The thought of home made tears well up in her eyes even though she desperately pushed them away.

After a few minutes of her silent reflection, she felt someone nudge her and she found who she thought was Emily standing over her and holding a few leaves in her hand. Emily offered them to Bella then took some for herself and popped them in her mouth.

Bella sniffed them and tentatively put one of the leaves in her mouth. It was fresh and minty with an earthy aftertaste that rid her mouth of the horrible taste from the past days. She hummed in satisfaction while the women smiled and watched her.

When the leaves lost their flavor, she spat them out into the same pile the other girls had. The light in the top of the hut showed that evening was close and Bella closed her eyes. Her body quickly pulled her into dark oblivion and her final thought before falling asleep was that for the first time since it happened, Bella felt like things could be okay.

It was light again when Bella woke. She sat up and felt her hair fall down her shoulders, mostly pleased but a little weirded out to see someone had brushed it out while she slept.

"Leah? Emily?" Bella called out, finding herself alone.

Both girls poked their head in the tent and, seeing that Bella was awake, rushed in while talking to each other excitedly. They sat next to Bella and started running their fingers through her hair.

Bella glanced at them curiously but allowed them to continue. She felt them braid her hair in different ways and set it in place with leather cords. They chattered continuously throughout the process, occasionally hearing them say her name in their strange way, but never being directly talked to.

She felt odd not feeling more shy around Emily and Leah. Before coming here it would take her months to warm up to someone but she trusted Emily and Leah. They had saved her when she felt like she was about to die and helped her. They taught her the first word she learned of their language. They felt safe in this strange place. Bella studied them closer as they played with her hair.

They looked more like teenagers rather than women, Bella realized. Emily looked a bit older than Leah and carried herself more confidently. Leah's hair was longer than Emily's and Bella found her slightly prettier than the other girl as well. Both had eyelashes that could comb the sky and perfect, white teeth that stood out against their flawless, russet skin.

When the girls finished their ministrations on Bella's hair, they tugged her up and started undressing her. Bella felt her cheeks flare up and she tried to stop them while covering herself at the same time but they would not be deterred by her sense of modesty. They stripped the dirty clothes she came in off her and began dressing her in clothes that were more similar to their own. The placed a soft leather shirt with long sleeves on her first. It was loose but warm. They put on loose pants of the same material next, no underwear; they weren't long enough to hit her ankles and rubbed her uncomfortably but these too were warmer than her other clothes. They had her slip on shoes like their own as well before pulling her out of the hut. Tears filled her eyes as they stripped the last bit of her home away.

It was Bella's first time being out of the hut since they had found her. The air had the same chilly, foggy quality as it had before and Bella shivered a bit since the cloud covered sun offered no relief from the temperature. However her new clothes did protect her better than the thin dress.

Around them stood more than 15 huts with smoke piping out of the top of most of them. Small pens held birds, horses, and small boars captive. Children ran around, some half naked even though the chill filled the air. Wolf like dogs walked around, tails switching lazily. Men and women were hurrying about with chores but many stopped to stare at Bella.

She felt blood rush her cheeks again and hid behind Emily. Her hair, held captive by the braids, would not allow her to hide behind it as well. The girls pulled her forward and the rest of the camp started trailing after them, murmuring softly to themselves. A few of the younger girls glared furiously at Bella, for which she had no idea why.

Bella allowed herself to be pulled forward while keeping her head down. The heat in her cheeks never left, and only intensified with every stumble her feet made as they walked.

When the group stopped moving, Bella allowed herself to look up once before looking at the ground again. They came to a circular clearing. A few tree stumps littered the ground which allowed the older attendees to sit more comfortably.

Leah and Emily led her to the middle, before Leah left to take a seat. Bella's shyness wouldn't allow her look up to plead Leah to stay with her and Emily in the center. More people surrounded them and Bella began to feel the crippling effects of her shyness with so many new people that close to her.

Her shoulders hunched forward and she could feel the blood burning beneath her cheeks. Breathing became a monumental task suddenly, as if her airways were being crushed. Tears flooded her eyes, begging to be released from their prison.

Why is this happening? I thought Emily and Leah would keep me safe. Her mental tone filled with despair at the thought of Emily and Leah abandoning her in this unfamiliar place. The safety she had felt with the girls earlier left her body with a whoosh and she would have collapsed to the ground with it except Emily clutched on to her arm when she felt Bella start to crumble.

Bella clutched at the hands holding her arm, fervently wishing that there was a way for her to escape this place. Her thoughts chanted one word as if it was the key to the meaning of life.

Home.

Soft whispers took place around the tribe. The tribe's hunters stood at the outer edges of the gathering, their chests bare save for the small ponchos that surrounded their shoulders.

Their height allowed them to see above the others standing in front of them, and their broad shoulders made them the obvious choice to stand guard at the edge of the circle, lest anything happen to the campsite with everyone at the meeting.

Sam scoffed at the pale girl standing in the center of the clearing.

She's so puny. Disgust tainted his mental tone as he appraised the newcomer that had caused such an outrage amongst his people. Of course his Lee-Lee had taken a liking to this little one so he could not outwardly show his distaste towards her. 'Bella calls me Leah!' She had told him, enamoured with the nickname she had been given by the pale one the prophecies spoke of.

Bella had been with them for 6 moons and had garnered a larger following than him, even though he had been living there his whole life. On top of that, she was asleep for most of her time here!

Superstitious bats. The tribe's prophecies told of a pale one saving their tribe, but the prophecies never came true, they were there to weave into legends and scare young ones into behaving.

The elders even believed he would fulfill one of their moronic prophecies: "The tallest one won't come first, but he is second. The marks will be their undoing."

Whatever that means. He knew he was the tallest in the tribe and Ephraim's son Jacob, though still young, didn't seem to be growing enough to pass him up. He was also second in command to Ephraim and would remain so when Jacob came of age. Just because he fit the first part of it, didn't mean some mark would be his undoing. He was stronger that whatever fate could bring his way.

Sam watched more people fill the clearing, standing and sitting wherever there was room. The pale girl, Bella, seemed to stumble while standing still, if that was possible. Her demeanor made it look as if she were a type of prey about to be hunted.

The clearing shushed as Ephraim stepped into the clearing trailed by his son.

Jacob is growing like a weed. Sam appraised.

Still three inches shorter than me at that age though. He added smugly.

They stopped directly in front of Bella and surveyed the tribe. Ephraim's mere presence demanded their attention. Jacob glared at the girl in front of him and she shrunk even more into herself and Emily. A moment of pity struck Sam. He had been at the end of that glare before and it was not a pleasant feeling.

Ephraim raised his arms, quieting the few left whispering amongst themselves.

"Many of you have heard the elder's prophecies as children and know what they say of the pale one," He began, speaking in traditional Quileute tongue, "After three moons of talking with the elder's we have come to a decision about letting this one stay with us."

Suspense hung in the air as thick as the fog that coated the world at night.

"The pale one is female, and young, like our children. She poses no threat to us and cannot fend for herself, like our people can. Many of you saw her when she arrived, poisoned by the dark water that kills every victim to sip from it's tainted blood. She lives on with us. Some of the elder's believe she could be the one to fulfill that destiny but it is too early to know. The prophecies speak of a strong, pale yet this one is weak and stupid like our fat birds."

Some laughed at the comparison. Everyone knew not to drink the black water.

"But she can grow into the strong one, if we allow it. We have decided to let the pale one stay, and if her destiny remains unfulfilled, she can be my son's wife, to bear him the pale ones of her skin."

Jacob glared at the crowd and the pale girl before him. His hatred filled the air, strong enough to muffle the gasps and murmurs of approvement or discontentment.

"We will welcome this pale one. She knows naught of our kind and does not speak this language yet the healer girls assure me she is not a half life. God's be good and let us each fulfill our own destiny." Ephraim ended the gathering quicker than it had begun.

The crowd dispersed and Emily began tugging Bella towards her healer hut as Sam advanced toward a standing Leah. The sunset burst through the clouds above, shooting colors like the spring flowers that grew through the sky.

Emily regarded him warily, giving him a small nod before making off with Bella, who kept herself hunched over while shuffling away.

Sam threaded his arms around Leah's waist so her back touched his chest and allowed himself a small grin at feeling her surprised jerk. She looked up and beamed at his display of affection which he so rarely allowed himself to do. They stood like that looking out towards the sunset together, listening subtly to the words being exchanged between Jacob and his father.

"You will begin teaching her at first light. It is your responsibility to this tribe." Ephraim said harshly to Jacob.

"So my responsibility to this tribe to watch over this child like a woman now?" Jacob replied, loathing coating every word. Sam agreed with him silently, Jacob needed to improve his hunting skills to properly protect this tribe.

"That 'child' will one day be your wife and the savior of this tribe. I would think you would want to be the one to teach her how to serve you." Ephraim said back, a tone of finality in his deep voice. "You will teach her and that is the end of it."

Sam could envision Jacob jutting out his chin like he always did when he didn't get his way with his father. He heard Jacob huff and stomp off, like the man child he was.

This cannot turn out well. You don't force love, love forces you. But then again not everyone can have what I have. He thought smugly, pressing a gentle kiss to Leah's head as they watched the sunset.

Jacob woke up cold the morning after his father decreed the ugly, pale one would be his future wife. His furs had been thrown around in his sleep and now he would have no time to warm back up before having to start his day with the girl.

Bella.

Her name sounded like a curse, a curse meant to ruin everything that could have been; his future, his life. Any of the girls in the tribe would have gladly taken Jacob as their husband yet he was stuck with the ugly alien. It was unnatural.

He dressed, letting his hatred propel him forward as his body slowly woke up.

After eating and straightening out the bed his thrashing had made a mess of, he walked slowly to the healer hut where Emily had been letting Bella stay since Jacob had first found her. If he had known then what his father would do he would have left her by the dark water to die like she should have in the first place. But his people weren't trained to hurt little children and neither was he. He only wanted to help.

Now his reward was babysitting this child, when he should have been practising his hunting skills or joining the elder's to learn his duties as someday Chief.

He held open the flap and saw Emily sitting with Bella, braiding her hair. Everything about this child was alien. Her brown hair had shone red in the sun, unlike the flat black that Emily's head held. Her skin was sallow like death and her features were too soft, not like the hard jaws and high cheeks of the Quileute.

"Come." He commanded in his native tongue, trying to use his deepest voice possible. Emily glared at him as Bella looked down. He saw the blood rush to her face and taint her skin pink. It was an unnerving feature of hers, he had seen it last night at the gathering.

"She doesn't speak our language you idiot. She won't understand you no matter how deep you try to make your voice." Emily sneered, seeing right through his false bravado.

"How am I supposed to teach it if it doesn't even know our tongue?" Jacob shot back.

"She is smart, I've already taught her water and a few other words. Watch me and you can keep doing it with her." Emily glared at him before picking up a piece of bread from her counter.

In Quileute, she said the word for bread and waited for Bella, to say it back. Bella glanced from the corner of her eye before dropping her eyes back to the floor and mumbling the word out so soft Jacob could hardly hear it.

"So this is all I'm able to get? A weak little child who can barely talk. Fine, guess I'll have to work with it." He said behind clenched teeth.

"It's only because you're here! Maybe if you were nicer she'd talk louder."

Jacob rolled his eyes before grabbing Bella's elbow and towing her out of the hut. Bella shied away from his touch and stumbled to the ground. She righted herself before Jacob could step in to help and took a cautious step away from him while brushing some debris off herself.

He glared at her as people started to stare and beckoned her to follow him.

And thus began her training. Jacob was not a gentle or particularly kind teacher but he was straight forward. He started by teaching her the common words of his people so she could communicate effectively with the other women and children, there would be hardly any reason for her to communicate with the men of the tribe unless they were the elders. And if another man tried to speak with her, Jacob would have to step in and make it know she was to be his, though he loathed the thought. Bella rarely looked up at him during these lessons and he always saw the pink tint her cheeks when he asked her to speak the words of his people.

She was smart but Jacob never let her think that. The words came to her fast and she could speak full sentences if she wanted too, but she rarely did. At least not to him. He watched her relationship with Emily and Leah grow, though Emily more so since Leah spent as much time as she could with Sam. Jacob grew envious of the moments Emily was able to pull Bella out of her shell and make her laugh. Jacob had only been able to do it once when he landed directly on his face into a pile of mud and, after she had let loose a giggle, she turned away from him and looked ashamed. Jacob would have done it again and again to hear that sound again. They spent almost every other day together so that Jacob would have time to learn his duties to the tribe and he tried to act like what she did on her days away from her seemed uninteresting to him.

When Jacob saw she could sufficiently speak, he started teaching her how to gather her own food and hunt. Her body was still small after the three moon cycles with them and it was unused to any work. It was during this time spent together than he began to extract more words from her. She still always blushed but seemed to have grown used to his presence enough to talk louder and look him in the eye more.

She did not have any forging skills, though this seemed to be a field that interested her since she asked him questions more freely about it. It appeared she wanted to learn the ways of his people from how she acted during these lessons. She never spoke of where she came from, even when directly asked by an elder. When people did asked, her eyes seemed to cloud over and she would meekly say that it was very far away and they wouldn't know of it. She never said more, as though the pain from the thought of her home sewed her mouth shut.

Her skills grew more each day they spent together and she never failed to surprise Jacob with how quickly she caught on to things. She started doing things that she could've only seen Jacob doing in passing once or twice, but without direct teaching. It made a strange proudness well in Jacob which he attributed to his superb teaching skills.

Reluctantly, forged by the amount of time spent together, Bella grew on Jacob. She sometimes asked him questions about the tribe and he found she always listened with a quiet attention. And even when she did not ask questions she listened to him mumble about this or complain about that, studying him with her mysterious light brown eyes, seeing more than she should, always. The tribespeople began to love her, she was so small that many couldn't resist helping her fragile body or telling a joke to hear her giggle which, when she blessed them with it, was a treasured sound.

Over this time her body began to change. She grew, but not by much more. Many of the women in the camp towered over her. Her soft body grew toned muscles with the labor that was required of all members of the tribe. Instead of bearing resemblance to the flatness of water, her body began resembling the curvaceous hillsides they climbed. Her hair grew and lightened with the sun exposure, little streaks of light brown mixed with red and deep mahogany. Minute flecks of brown marked her skin after too many sunburns. Her facial features seemed to start fitting with her face better although her lips still remained a bit too full for her face.

Jacob tried not to notice this, especially her lips when she talked, but his body was changing more too. He grew taller, but not quite as tall as Sam, and just as broad. Watching her work and learn the way of his people began being difficult for him not to react to her body.

He taught her how to hunt next and just like every other skill, she learned like she was made for this life. She grew confident and more bold. Her arrow skills surpassed any man of the tribe and she could wield a knife almost as well as Jacob. She could safely whisper the words of thanks to her kill without tears flooding her eyes.

Months turned into years and Bella was no longer the weak girl she had come to the tribe as. She was still small but could readily defend herself from man or beast. For Jacob, teaching her to fight was the hardest part, especially since the proximity to her body seemed to control his every thought. But it was also because of her small stature. He could easily overpower her if he chose and so he had to teach her how to use her advantages for her rather than against her. She was quick and small, therefore making a target her size harder to hit and a target that is harder to hit is a target that lives.

Emily taught her the healing arts in her free time as well, though Jacob began to steal her away whenever he could. Although he wanted to despise her for ruining his could have been, he simply couldn't. He wanted her company and began to prefer being with her instead of the hunters like what was expected of him. He wanted to hear her giggle and see her blush taint her fair cheeks. He liked her inquisitive nature and how everything surrounding her seemed new.

Her appearance no longer seemed foreign to him, but more beautiful than any goddess they worshiped. It wasn't just her physical attributes that drew him to her, it was also the way she was fiercely competitive with his people and seemed to glow from within when she hunted successfully. All these attributes made a woman of their people attractive, and Jacob came to realize she truly was one of them now.

The fact that she would be his wife one day no longer made loathing flow through his veins, but instead excited him. She was everything that would be desirable and more. Not all the wives knew how to hunt and fight but Bella's skills and her desire to always learn more made her attractive to many suitors, yet she was to be his.

Jacob knew that if she didn't already, he could show her how to love him; the way he did she.

AN: Edward's coming in next chapter ;) stay tuned, fav/follow/review


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